lindsley



J. D. LINDSLEY.

PIANO WAGON.

' Patented Ming #5 INVEN TOR gmm Y duh 14M,

ATTORNEYS.

@WMZJ wW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OHN D. LINDSLEY, OF HIAWATHA, KANSAS.

PIANO-WAGON.

8PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,154, dated May 4, 1886.

Application filed August 26, 1885. Serial No. 175,379.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. LIND'sLEY, of Hiawatha, in the county of Brown and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Piano \Vagon and Loader, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to wagons and loading devices adapted more particularly for moving pianos and organs, but applicable also to moving other objects or loads.

The invention has for its object to make the work of moving these heavy musical instruments less laborious and safer to the persons handling them, and to promote the safety of the instruments during loading or unloading or while in transit, and to accomplish these results by the aid of simple, inexpensive, and

efficient devices.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the piano wagon and loader, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improve ment with the outer covering of the wagon removed to show its interior, and with the wagon-body partly broken away and in section, and showing an upright piano being loaded into the wagon. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the bar-frame'and the lock-plates by means of which the pianos are held in the wagon, the longitudinally-ranging bar having the locking-lugs being partly broken away; and Fig. 3 is a detail View illustrating the manner of loading the legs and lyre of grand and square pianos in the wagon.

The letter A indicates the body of the wagon,

which is formed of a suitable base or bottom (No model.)

skids to be folded up, so as to be more conveniently hung upon hooks inside of the wagonbody and over the piano when it is loaded into the Wagon. At their opposite sides and edges the skids C have metal bars or rails c fixed to them, to prevent the wheels 01 of the piano-truck D from running off the skids, and the rails .0 also strengthen the skids. The bed 6: of the truck D will have any suitable construction for-supporting an upright piano, E,

or square or grand pianos, cross-cleats or blocks being provided on the bed for holding squares or grands. 6 5

At G is shown a rope, which is fastened or hooked at one end, 9, to the wagon-body A, and is passed through a pulley-block, H, held to the forward end of the truck D, and thence to an ordinary ratchet-Windlass, I, on the 7c wagon.

The letters J J indicate two metal bars, which are connected together and so as tobe parallel with each other by cross-bars J J, and thus constitute a banframe, which at suitable places is provided with holes j, through which screws may be passed into the back of the upright piano E, as shown in Fig.

1, or it may be into the bottom of a square or grand piano, to bind the bar-frame firmly to the piano, and the lower ends of the crossbars J J are bent edgewise, or are provided with arms F F, which have holes through which screws, as at f, may be passed into the side of the bed of the truck D after the piano 8 5 has been placed on the truck and the frame J J has been secured to the piano, as above described, so that the piauo will be held securely to the truck as it is moved up or along the skids O and into the wagon by means of the rope, pulley, and Windlass G H I.

The bars J each have formed on them near opposite ends a T-shaped head or lug, K, which is adapted to lock in and behind the outer part of a lock-plate, L, which is formed 5 with the main plate portion Z, which is raised from and connected with opposite end portions or flanges, Z, having holes Z, through which screws or bolts are passed into the inner faces of two parallel bars or risers, a a, of the wagon-top, to secure the lock-plate to the wagon, as in Fig. 1.

At its bent end, nearest the back end of the wagon, the lock-plate has an enlargement,

m, of its longitudinallyranging slot M, said enlargement at being of ample size to allow entrance through it of the head is of the lug K, and so the head may pass in behind the raised plate portion Z of the locleplate,while the stem portion In of the lug K passes into the main part of the slot M, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The bars J J each have a downward bend edgewise at or near the center, as at j so that the lugs K of the bars which first enter the wagon will pass freely below the lock-platcs L at the rear of the wagon, and will look into the plates L nearest the front of the wagon, while the rear lugs, K, on the bars J J enter and lock with the plates L, which are placed as much higher in the wagon as the extent of the edgewise bends in the bars.

. The upper and lower lock-plates, L L, at

the rear end of the wagon each have pivoted to them at a a hook, N, which, when the piano is fully pushed into the wagon, so that the lugs K on the bars J J fully enter their respective lock-p1ates, may be turned down to hook behind the lugs, as in Fig. 2, for locking the piano-truck and piano against moving endwise in the wagon.

Tracks 0 (dotted in Fig. 1) will be laid on the wagon-bed, so as to coincide with the skids O, and guard-rails 0 will be laid outside of the tracks 0, to compel the piano-truck D to enter the wagon properly from the skids, for causing the lugs K on the piano to automatically engage the lock-plates L on the wagon as the truck is pushed or drawn to its proper position in the wagon.

To the outer end of the skids O is attached a rope, P, which passes forward to and over a pulley-block, 1), journaled at or near the top of the rear end of the wagon, and thence downward and forward to a ratchet-windlass, R, on the wagon-body, so that by operating said windlass the skids, with the piano-truck thereon, may be raised up level, to allow the truck to easily be run forward into the Wagon,

To prevent racking strains on the top of the wagon by the connection of the piano to the top, as above described, I fix crossed braces a a to the risers a a at the sides of the top,which prevent racking of the top lengthwise, and I fix crossed braces a a across the wagon in front of the forward lock-plates, L L, which prevent sidewise racking of the wagontop as the wagon, with the piano fastened therein, travels over rough roads.

Short bars J, provided with a single T- shaped lug, K, may be fixed to the piano, so as to look into plates L, fixed in proper relative positions in the wagon-body; but the short bars would have to be spaced apart and fastened to the piano after making a series of measurements, which would require considerable time to effect, and there would be lia-.

bility of mistake; hence the frame of bars J J, with the end arms, F, is by far the best arrangement, as no measurements are required to be taken in fixing the bars to the piano and fastening the piano to the truclgso as to insure a positive and easy lock of the lugs K with the plates L in the wagon.

If desired, one ofthe bars, Jthe lower one, for instance with connected bars leading down to the truck D, and having arms F, adapted to be connected to the side or top of the truck, may be used, as will be readily understood.

The continuous operation is as follows: When the wagon is properly positioned, the skids 0 will be removed from it and set up in place with their back end on the ground, as in Fig. 1, and the truck D will then be backed from the wagon down the skids and into the most convenient position to receive the piano E, which then will be placed on the truck, and the frame J J F then will be secured to the piano and truck, as above described. The windlass I then will be operated to draw the truck and piano up the skids until the forward wheels, (I, of the truck enter the wagon and rest on the tracks 0, and the windlass R then will be operated to raise the skids, truck, and piano up level and hold them so, and the windlass I again will be operated to draw the truck fully into the wagon, and so that the lugs K on the bars J engage lock-plates L, as in Fig. 2, and the hooks N, which had previously been thrown back on their pivots a, will be swung over behind the lugs K, to lock the truck in place, substantially as above described. The skids 0 now will be removed and folded and hung up in the wagon, and the rear doors of the wagon will be closed, and all is ready. for transit.

In unloading the piano from the wagon, the skidsG will be adjusted in the hooks b and held up level by rope I? and windlass R, and when the hooks N are thrown back the piano truck D will be run out of the wagon onto the skids, and then the rope P will be slaekened off, to allow the skids to rest on the ground, as in Fig. 1, and the windlass I will be operated to let the truck back down the skids, and after the piano on the truck is moved where required the bar-frame J J F will be loosened from the piano and truck, and the piano may then be lifted from the truck and be set up where required.

In moving grand or square pianos, their lyre S and legs T will be placed in a frame, U, so that end dowels on this frame or on the lyre, and legs will enter holes in the lyre and legs or in the frame, to hold them to place, and so they will be separated from each other, (see Fig. 3,) and the frame U then will be placed in the wagon at the side of the piano, and will be fastened to the wagon bed or floor by screws, as at a, and to the side of the wagon-top by hooks V on the frame U entering eyes 1;, fixed to the wagon, so that the entire piano may safely be carried over rough or smooth roads.

By the aid of my improvements pianos or organs may be loaded on the wagon and be carried any distance and be unloaded from the wagon with comparative ease, and with much greater safety to the persons moving them and to theinstruments themselves, as will readily be understood.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A piano wagon and loader comprising a wagon, A B, provided with windlasses I R and ropes GP, skids 0, adapted to be set up at the rear end of the wagon, and to which the outer end of the rope P is attached, and a truck, D d, adapted to hold the piano, and to which the rope G is attached, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a piano wagon and loader, the combination,with the lock plates L, having slots M m, and fixed to the wagon-body, of bars, as at J. fastened to the piano and provided with headed lugs K, adapted to lock in and behind the plates L, substantially as herein set forth.

3. In a piano wagon and loader, the combination, with the lockplates L, having slots M m, and fixed to the wagon-body, and bars J, fastened to the piano and provided with headed lugs K, adapted to the lock-plates L, of hooks N on the plates L, adapted to be locked behind the lugs K, substantially as herein set forth.

4. In a piano wagon and loader, the combination, with two lock-plates,L L, each having a slot, M m, and fixed to the front and rear parts of the wagon-body, and the, front lockplate set out of line with the rear lock-plate, of a bar, J, fastened to the piano and provided with two headed lugs, K K, one at or near each end, and said bar J having a bend positioning the forward lug K out of line with the rear lug K, substantially as described, whereby both lugs will engage their respective lock-plates L when the piano is placed in the wagon, as set forth.

. 5. In a piano wagon and loader, the combination, with a bar, J, or a, pair of such bars connected together to form a bar-frame, and provided with headed lugs, as at K, adapted to enter slotted lock-plates fixed to the wagonbody, substantially as described, of arms, as at F, held to the barorbar-frame, and adapted to be attached to the piano-truck when the bar-frame is attached to the piano on the truck, substantially as herein set forth.

6. A piano wagon and loader comprising a wagon, A B, provided with tracks 0, and having windlasses I B and ropes G P, skids C, lining with tracks 0 and to which the rope P is attached, a truck, D d, adapted to skids C and tracks 0, and to which the rope G is attached, lock-plates L, having slots M m, and attached to the wagon-body, and bars J, or a bar-frame attached to the piano and provided with arms, as at F, adapted for attachment to the truck, and provided also with headed lugs K, adapted automatically to engage the lock-plates L as the truck D is drawn into the wagon, substantially as herein set forth- JOHN D. LINDSLEY.

Witnesses:

SAML. WILSON, G. H. LAWRENCE, A. O. DIOKASON. 

